This comes via Extension Specialist Jim Oltjen:

Cattle producers are being asked to provide their input to the 2011 National Beef Quality Audit by taking a short survey at www.cattlesurvey.com.  The survey can be completed in approximately 10 minutes.

The 2011 NBQA, led by scientists from Colorado State University and Texas A&M University, is designed to collect and analyze information from cooler audits in the packing sector, face-to-face interviews with beef supply chain partners and for the first time cattle producers including feeders, stockers, cow-calf operators, and seedstock producers will be surveyed. According to Field, producer input is being sought to strengthen the measurement of quality-based practices implemented on farms and ranches that support consumer confidence in beef products and production systems.

The checkoff-funded National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) has provided important benchmarks for the U.S. beef industry since 1991. According to Tom Field, Executive Director of Producer Education, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program, the audit has been conducted approximately every four years with the historic focus centered on quantifying the performance of beef carcasses for a number of value enhancing characteristics. Field said the previous surveys have assisted in identifying challenges and opportunities for cattle producers.

“We hope to quantify the current adoption level of quality driven management practices by the industry and develop a benchmark against which to measure future performance. Our goal is to provide a foundation from which to direct future educational initiatives to improve the competitiveness of beef and beef by-products,” says Field. “By collecting input from cattle producers, we will help consumers and decision influencers better understand beef production and the commitment of cattlemen to producing safe and wholesome beef products.”

Cattlemen can find the survey online at www.cattlesurvey.com beginning on June 2, 2011. The survey will also be available to beef producers at a variety of state, regional and national industry meetings and conventions.